Automation has long been a hot topic for many companies. From the elimination of repetitive, menial tasks to genuine optimizations of entire teams – solutions such as RPA and automation have a lot to offer.
But how do you recognize a quality automation process from a useless POC that doesn’t actually offer anything? Which steps in your process are the most important? And what value can our Discovery Tool add? Automation expert Joeri explains!
don’t just automate repetitive tasks
“The myth that you can only automate repetitive tasks was debunked a long time ago,” explains Joeri. “You can see a lot more potential when you shift your focus from these repetitive tasks to broader processes, but you always need to start with a proper analysis. If you dive into an automation project without first doing your research, you’re going down a dead-end street.”
“Finance is a classic department in which automation can achieve a lot, but opportunities exist in all departments – it’s just that people don’t always know what’s possible, and that automation and RPA can offer much more than simply replicating repetitive tasks. I think there should be more information available about all this.”
discovery tool
Joeri continues: “And that’s where the idea to develop our Discovery Tool in-house came from. We use this tool to step back to the analysis phase.”
“We start by sending out a survey with specific questions to people in the business: Where are your bottlenecks? What are your requirements? What problems do you currently come up against?”
“Then we try to translate the responses into technical solutions. My colleagues and I work out how long it would take to automate certain processes, and what impact automating those processes would have on the business. If we come to the conclusion that an automated process would have a positive impact, we make a positive recommendation to the management team, so everyone knows where they stand.”
“Then my colleagues get to work,” adds Joeri. “We’ve already automated a wide variety of processes for our clients, often with help from our partner UiPath – including typical quick-wins, such as automated invoicing processes, and more complicated solutions like the automatic creation of SES templates.”
“Either way, it’s clear to see that automation bears the most fruit when the processes are thoroughly analyzed first, with a real focus on the people in the business, and not just the management. That’s what we’re aiming for with our Discovery Tool.”
uipath
Joeri continues: “Randstad Digital has a partnership with UiPath: a tool that doesn’t just focus on RPA/automation, but also on process mining, process optimization and data analysis, for example.”
“We entered into this partnership together with Randstad on a global level, so we can help our customers with their automation in a very concrete way following on from the initial analysis phase.”
It’s clear to see that automation bears the most fruit when the processes are thoroughly analyzed first, with a real focus on the people in the business, and not just the management. That’s what we’re aiming for with our Discovery Tool.
every company can benefit from automation
“I firmly believe that every company can benefit from automation – as long as it starts with a proper analysis to determine where they can make the most gains.”
“That’s why we’re offering our Discovery Tool to clients now too, and Intertrans, Proximus and Engie are good examples. The responses we’ve had have been extremely positive!”